(Pov Kenjaku)
Finding Tengen's little hideaway had been much easier than expected, which meant she was waiting for me. I knew the students of Jujutsu High and Gojo Satoshi would rush off to interfere in the games and find a way to free Satoru. It would be impossible, of course, at least for now. I knew Satoshi had lost access to the one key he needed, and as long as my cursed energy remained, the entrance would stay locked up, leaving the others with no choice but to look for the Angel. I was certain Tengen would keep one or two of them behind for protection, of course, but they'd be little trouble.
Finding my way into the tomb was no challenge; I had been there more times than any other being besides Tengen herself. No matter how much she altered the layout, I would find my way through, and like every time before, I soon found myself facing my oldest friend.
"It's been a while, Tengen. You're looking rather unwell," I said, noticing her inhuman appearance.
"I see you've taken another body. Which number is this one?" She asked.
"It's rude to ask such questions, isn't it?" I responded.
After the encounter in Shibuya, I had found another body to use. The Gojo clan member had been useful, but now the shock had worn off enough that the aching joints just weren't worth it anymore.
"So who did you pick? Which of your Jujutsu sorcerers will I be facing before this happens?" I asked, looking around the room. I couldn't detect any other cursed energy signatures nearby, but Tengen was likely hiding them, preparing for a sneak attack.
"Haven't you noticed?" She asked, and I felt a sharp pain go through me from back to front, and when I looked down, a sword was sticking out of my stomach.
"Yo, Kenny, it's been a while." A voice said from behind. I turned and saw a head of white hair and bright blue eyes staring into mine.
"Gojo Satoshi, you don't know when to quit, do you?" I ground out. I grabbed the blade, snapped off the part sticking out, and noticed it was a normal sword. I jumped, putting distance as my RCT kicked into action.
"You're wondering about the sword, right?" He asked, dropping the remaining blade. "It's an old trick I picked up. If I had used a cursed tool, you could have felt its cursed energy, but just a sword, and you've got nothing."
"What is that meant to prove? You already know I possess Reverse Cursed Technique, and even if you kill me, doing so without a tool will only guarantee my transformation." I said. Whatever his plan was, it ultimately couldn't stop me; nothing could now.
"Oh, don't worry about that; it won't matter much longer." He said before suddenly disappearing from my sight.
(Pov Satoshi)
I landed above in a hidden spot among the rafters as the spot I had been standing on crumpled under a sudden increase in gravity. I knew this wouldn't be an easy fight, especially since Kenjaku had picked up a new body, so he was likely holding onto a mystery technique. So I would need to play this stealthily, as Toji had all those years ago. While strength was important, being undetectable was what had allowed Toji to be such an effective assassin.
The issue is, though, the moment I draw out a cursed tool, Kenjaku would sense it and my approach, which is why I had Tengen. With her knowledge of barriers and how to manipulate them and the space within things, this might work out.
I ran along the rafters towards another weapon. I had stashed many regular weapons around this room to use without being discovered; they wouldn't do much against a body reinforced with cursed energy and capable of rapid healing with RCT, but they would wear him down bit by bit. As I ran, I could hear metal being torn apart, and suddenly a chunk of the ceiling was crushed inward.
The semi-circle of destruction lifted higher until it smashed into the roof of the barrier and disappeared. As soon as it did, another chunk disappeared as well, followed by more small circles of destruction being shot at random in an attempt to catch me. I dodged as more kept coming and finally reached my next stash, pulling out a weapon: a metal bo staff with a comfortable grip in the middle and a slight weight on both ends. I dropped down and rushed towards Kenjaku from the side, the staff in my hands whipping around towards his head.
It struck, throwing him across the space, but he recovered quickly and raised his hand towards me, distorting the space. A wave of pressure flowed outward, and the ground churned towards me. I ran forward and jumped with all my force, denting the floor and leaping over the oncoming wave, landing in front of Kenjaku to continue my assault.
In close combat, Kenjaku was no slouch; he had spent countless years mastering just about any form of martial arts he could find, and he had spent just as long manipulating cursed energy, so his reinforcement was strong. Yet the advantage given to me was enough to outpace him even with his experience, but even then I couldn't let this turn into a battle of attrition. I had no idea how much cursed energy he had left, so hoping he'd run out would be a gamble. Not to mention, he knew RCT, so his wounds wouldn't last long. If I kept this up, the battle would be decided by whichever ran out first: my stamina or his cursed energy, so it was time to flip the table.
I let the staff slide out, grabbed the end with both hands, and smashed it into him with incredible strength, sending him flying like a baseball. I tossed the now-broken staff aside, but instead of going back to the ceiling for other weapons, I opened my mouth as wide as possible and reached inside. This was also somewhat of a gamble; I wasn't entirely sure the worm was ready to come out. I wasn't excited to learn what happens to things in an inventory space when the being that created it dies, but some risks had to be taken.
I finally felt it near the back of my mouth, grabbed the ping-pong ball-shaped mass, and pulled it out into the open. Once freed, the worm sprang to its full size and curled around me once more; it had healed well, though I could see a few scars along its body.
"Hey buddy, missed you," I whispered, earning a sound that was almost a purr. As I reached toward the curse, a handle emerged from its mouth, and out came the Split-Soul Katana. Feeling the familiar weight of the cursed tool, I turned back to Kenjaku, who had finished recovering and was back on the move.
We approached each other, but before long I saw his hands moving in front of him. "I know this can't target you, but I'd like to do this battle on more favorable ground." His hands formed into a strange seal, and I rushed forward faster than I had thought possible. As he began to speak, I could feel his cursed energy build, and the barrier space around us began to tremble and flicker, but it was too late.
I appeared before Kenjaku so fast he hadn't even noticed me yet, and by the time he did, I had made my attack. A single swing and the Split-Soul Katana cut through his neck, and a moment later his head went flying, and his stolen body collapsed. His head rolled twice before stopping; his eyes locked onto me, and despite the circumstances, he was smiling.
"You do know this won't work, right? I'm part of this, and you killed me with a cursed tool. I'll just come back when you're long dead." Kenjaku said somehow without lungs. He was right: if I left things like this, he would be reborn like the Star Plasma Vessel and Six Eyes, but I knew how to fix that. I stepped up to him and, from the worm, pulled out a weapon I rarely used; it was a gun, the same one Toji had tried using against Riko back then, and given it was not a cursed object, Kenjaku would stay dead. I raised the gun and fired once, hitting him right between the eyes, and just like that, the greatest threat to the world of Jujutsu was dead.
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I live! I'm so sorry for the delay on this chapter. I wrote most of this fic while in college during class, and I thought that once I graduated I'd be free to write, but it turns out that when I have free time at home, I do nothing. I know it's not a good excuse, and I apologize for the wait. Unfortunately, I don't know when or if the next chapter will be made, but I promise to try to finish this for all of you who have read this story. I can't thank you enough for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.